The Wonder of Grace

The Wonder of God’s Grace
Romans 5:1-21
“But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
If we just read the first three chapters of Romans, we could easily conclude that man is hopeless in his sinful condition, and rightfully so, for that is the point Paul is making.  Paul confronts us with the reality that sin alienates us from God and leads us to the certainty of judgment.  In our sinful state, we are without hope, for we are depraved.  This does not mean that we are as wicked as we can be but that everything in our lives is tainted by sin.  Paul affirms with the psalmist that “none seek God, all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none that does good, there is not even one” (3:11-12).  This does not mean that sinful humans cannot do good things, but that even the good we do is tainted by sin.  As a result, we have “all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23).  If Paul stopped there, we would be hopeless, for the infiltration of sin into every aspect of life results in the certainty of judgment.  Because of sin’s presence, there is nothing in us to merit salvation and acceptance of God. This results in the certainty of divine judgment (6:3).

However, Paul is not just a master theologian who understands the condition of humanity; he is a missionary who desires to provide hope for people entrapped in sin.  In chapter five, he changes the narrative.  While the holiness and justice of God lead us to the necessity and certainty of divine judgment for sin, the grace of God gives us the hope and promise of salvation. Paul points us to the severity of sin so that he might point us to God’s love for us.  This love was demonstrated in the death of Christ.  Christ’s substitutionary death was not just for those who had lived a life worthy of salvation.  Paul has already pointed out that no one is worthy. Instead, Christ’s death made salvation possible for the least deserving.   In verse 11, Paul points out that Christ died for us when we were still enemies of God.  In other words, Christ made salvation possible before we had anything within us that would merit God’s blessing.  We were the very opposite.  We were hostile to God.  This is the wonder of God’s grace and love for us.  Christ became our substitute, paying the penalty for our sins so that the wrath of God and His justice may satisfied (vs. 9).  While sin brought the certainty of death, Christ achieved our resurrection, making it possible for us to have eternal life (6:23).

At night, we gaze up into the heavens and marvel at the magnitude and wonder of God’s creation.  But there is an object of our gaze that should cause even greater wonderment: the view of the cross.  In the stars, we see the wonder of His infinite power, but in the cross, we see the wonder of His infinite grace.  No matter how great our sin, His grace is greater, for “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (verse 21).  In grace, past sins are erased, and we are now given a new life.  In this new life,  the righteousness of Christ is credited to us, making it possible for us to have free access to God through Christ.  

The last question, then, is how do we attain this salvation?  The answer lies in faith.  We are faced with either accepting Christ by faith or rejecting His offer and living independently of Christ.  While salvation is universally offered, it is not universally applied.  To be the beneficiary of this salvation, we must accept the gift of salvation by faith, no longer relying upon our merit but acknowledging our sin and embracing the grace He offers (chapter 4). This faith is not merely intellectual assent but complete surrender.  It is to accept the salvation of Christ by faith and then allow Christ to manifest Himself through us. We are saved by faith in Christ, but we are to also live by faith in Christ, allowing Him to change and shape our character and actions.  This is the hope for all humanity and the hope for you and me.